how long does it take the brain to die after lack of oxygen

[Grandpa Pipes]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Connection

my mom went without for a period of time. she did die. but docs said after having her on repirator for 45 minutes she would be brain dead.

she did die after being on repirator for only 45 minutes.

they asked if we wanted to keep her on.. but said she was brain dead.. and said if we took her off - she would be a vegetable... should she have been kept on it longer ???

she was a young 83. did nt times crossword puzzles everyday..
got out..

should we have had tests conducted or waited a day to see for sure if brain was dead and if she would have been a vegetable. ???

perhaps her brain was still or could be viable still.

thank you

Look at it this way....
Your brain is the center of who you are while the body serves the brains wishes.

Once the brain is gone the body is just a shell where no life exist anymore.

[Huckleberry3911948]

i have heard many versions of this it seems a very grey area. people have fully come out of a coma after years of being "brain dead".

[Padgett2]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

i have heard many versions of this it seems a very grey area. people have fully come out of a coma after years of being "brain dead".

This is true, but there is a big difference between the brain not functioning (brain dead...coma...) and brain death where the cells have actually died from oxygen loss.

Those patients in a coma have a brain that can resume functioning to some extent. There is enough intact to do this. Those, where the brain cells have been destroyed, especially those involved in breathing, will not grow new cells. What's gone is gone.

The cells in the brain are unique. We don't grow new ones to replace those that have been destoyed.

Sometimes, the "brain dead" patient that recovers, was not properly diagnosed. At other times, it seems to depend on where the damage is done. Some brain function can be taken over by other parts of the brain. Breathing, seems to be one of those functions that can't.